In this episode, Jake and Erin discuss the disconnect between architecture education and the profession, how our skills and training can be invaluable to many different roles in different industries, and how you can create and design an architecture career that fits you.

The OOA book, “Out of Architecture: The Value of Architects Beyond Traditional Practice”, was featured in Architect Newspaper’s Holiday Book Gift Guide for 2022.

This is the second round with Erin Pellegrino and Jake Rudin, two Harvard graduates who have started a consulting company called Out of Architecture. Since last time we have talked they have now written also a book titled the same way. In this one hour conversation we have discussed how did they write, why did they write it and who is this for? Enjoy the conversation and you can watch here the round one!

Architects, we need to talk.

We need to talk about being overworked, underpaid and undervalued.

We need to talk about how sacrificing your health, sanity and relationships at the altar of architecture and for the glory of good design is not okay. Burnout is like a dormant virus. It incubates in architecture school, spreads through architecture companies and slowly infects your entire life. It sounds grim. Because it is.

Most architects can relate to the feeling of being plunged into a deep devotion toward architecture. What starts out as a dream career becomes a nightmare for many. After a rigorous education, the experience of a tumultuous career journey can dishearten professionals.

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to work in a different profession? Is it possible? Are the skills learnt while studying Architecture useful in other industries? Let's take a spin with Out of Architecture, the career consulting firm that helps you leverage the full value of your architecture education in any field.

Is there more than architecture?

In this podcast episode, join Jeff and Katharine backstage to reflect on a conversation that we had with Erin Pellegrino and Jake Rudin, Co-Founders of Out of Architecture . They help us understand the value of our skills and education and what lies beyond architecture.

Jake Rudin, Sr. Manager of  Digital Technologies at Adidas, and co-founder Out of Architecture speaks with Jennifer Brown about how his architectural education  supplied him with the tools to be led down a winding path of interesting  'non-architecture' jobs before landing with Adidas. A great  conversation that covers every aspect of what is at the core of A  Student's Perspective, and how Out of Architecture developed as a way to  assist other creatives to maximize their potential as well.

This week, I'm speaking with Jake Rudin and Erin Pellegrino, Founders of Out of Architecture, a career consulting firm interested in exploring the value of their skills both in and out of the architectural profession.

Although the focus of this episode is around the architecture industry's unhealthy relationship around some topics like work-life balance and fair payments, our talk goes much beyond that and covers so many interesting issues and of course, a lot of inefficiencies to be addressed.

In this episode, Jake and Erin discuss the disconnect between architecture education and the profession, how our skills and training can be invaluable to many different roles in different industries, and how you can create and design an architecture career that fits you.

In this episode, we had the pleasure to have another two Harvard graduates, Jake Rudin and Erin Pellegrino. They are educated as architects, but soon in their careers, they have noticed a really dark side of the profession. Architects often end up doing non-creative work, they have lots of extra hours at work and they are often under-payed for the skills they have.

The two of them have figured out a way out of architecture.

Jake is a strategic thinker and designer and member of the Adidas Advanced Creation Technologies team. He is also the co-founder of Out of Architecture — a career consulting firm started by two Harvard-educated professionals interested in exploring the value of their skills both in and out of the architectural profession.

His main point (according to my understanding) is that all architects & designers, especially the young ones, should be fairly paid for the work they do. They should value their competence, knowledge, years spent at the university education and vast palette of skills.

He summarized: I’m so disappointed in architecture. I love the art, I love the work, and I love the people. The profession as a whole needs to be corrected. I can’t save the profession, but I can help individuals.

Jake Rudin and Erin Pellegrino are the co-founders of Out of Architecture (@outofarchitecture), a career consulting firm for architects looking to apply their incredible talents in untraditional ways. Jake and Erin met during their Bachelor of Architecture program at Cornell University, and both received their MBA from the Quantic School of Business and Technology and graduate degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Currently, Jake works at adidas where he manages teams in Computational Design, Digital Technologies, and Pattern Engineering.He also teaches visual communications at Portland State University. Erin is a Visiting Lecturer in Architecture at Cornell and Principal of her studio, Matter.

In this episode, we discuss passion versus pay, creative and financial burnout, and how to see your own career as a design problem.

Running Out of Architecture, a career consulting firm for architects, as well as working for Adidas managing engineering and design teams, Jake is well-versed in design and corporate creativity. Experienced in areas such as beekeeping, to show design and innovation, Jake is brilliant all around and incredible to have on The Matt Baxter Show!